Olympic swimming gold medallist Duncan Goodhew MBE surprised me a little when he told me that his earliest memory of swimming involves his father and a JCB.

“My father dug up the tennis court in our garden and built a sort of DIY swimming pool,” he said.

“It was great. I have lovely memories of long hot summers spent with friends and family around the pool and just enjoying the outdoors. My father always said, that in terms of fun, it was the best investment he ever made.

“I have a black and white photo of me aged five where I’m wearing a rubber ring that looks like a chicken and there’s a big inflatable shark behind me. I have always said that subconsciously that is what motivated me to swim fast. I have always felt like a chicken being chased by a shark!”

Duncan spends more time swimming now than when he was competing.

As well as being the ambassador for Swimathon, he’s also the ambassador for British Gas’ ‘Swimfit’ which promotes the health benefits of swimming, from paddling pools to podiums.

“More than 12 million people swim regularly in the UK so it’s by far the most popular sport that we do,” he tells me.

“We’re a nation of swimmers and everyone should be able to swim as it’s a life skill. I often try to work out a way of getting an outdoor pool in my own garden but I need a long pool and can’t get a 25m one into my garden. It doesn’t stop me wanting one though,” he laughs.

“I’d also like to grow my own veg, so maybe I just need a bigger garden altogether.

“As a child I remember we had a gardener to do the garden for us and I used to help him a lot.

“Then later on, my step father was an avid gardener and there was nothing better than going home when I was in my 20s to big platefuls of home grown and healthy veg.”

Duncan says that one of the nicest things he sees when he coaches Sport In Schools initiatives at primary schools is how pupils have turned some areas into beautiful garden spaces.

“I find it really heartening to see all that enthusiasm for being outdoors and nature coming back,” he adds.

Find out about Swimathon events near you at www.swimathon.org or get more details on Swimfit at www.swimming.org/swimfit

My week

I have had a great time visiting primary schools with my new Veg-ucation programme, giving teachers a little more confidence and down-to-earth advice to enable them to encourage school kids to get growing.

I’m really impressed by the fact that many of the school gardens have been created by sheer enthusiasm from the teachers rather than experience.

It’s been great to be able to make it a little easier for them and to encourage them to ‘keep growing’ by sharing experience, tips, resources and ideas.

Quick mown

It’s a good idea to dust off the lawn mower before the grass starts to grow, as often you’ll need to make a repair or two or even a replacement and workshops and dealers will still be reasonably quiet.

Leave it until March or April and you’ll have to join an orderly queue and grass waits for no man!

Someone who had his own mower finely-tuned and raring to go last spring was Don Wales, right, who set a 87.3mph record on Pendine Sands. Don took the title from American Bobby Cleveland who wasn’t happy about losing his 2006 record.

He retaliated by building an even faster mower to win it back in September by reaching an astonishing 96.5 miles per hour.

To prove it was still a lawnmower, he had to use it to cut grass on the same day, though presumably not at 95 mph!

Did you know?

February is known as ‘y mis bach’ in Welsh, meaning ‘the little month’. Historical names for February include the Anglo-saxon terms Solmonath (mud month) and Kale-monath (cabbage month).

Flower power

The birth month flower representing February can be the violet, right, or the primrose.

Birth month flowers date back to Roman times when flowers in season were used to decorate the alters of the gods as part of the celebrations.

Later, the language of flowers developed during the highly conservative period of the Victorian era.

The Victorians were strongly restricted by the rules of etiquette and it was considered totally inappropriate to express feelings of love or affection.

Therefore, a message was assigned to a specific flower which could be conveyed by sending that particular flower.

The hidden meaning of sending a violet depended on the colour of the flower – white meant “let’s take a chance” and purple pledged “I’ll always be true”.